The Alienist

The Alienist

The Alienist, based on the novel by Caleb Carr, revolves around New York City in the late 1890s, where a series of grisly murders grips the city. Unofficially brought in to consult on the case is Dr. Laszlo Kreizler, a local alienist, or psychiatrist, as well as John Moore, a reporter for the New York Times. The two team up with some NYPD employees, Sara Howard, the first woman to work for the NYPD, and Marcus and Lucius Isaacson, Jewish twins whose forward methods of investigation are looked down upon by the rest of the force. The group runs a parallel investigation reporting directly to Teddy Roosevelt (yes, that Teddy Roosevelt), who at the time was the head of the NYPD.

Serialized murder mystery shows have never quite caught on here in the States like they have in other countries, though I myself am a fan of them. This show does not employ a side mystery-of-the-week that many of its counterparts have done, and the show is somewhat stronger for it. The pace if kept faster, and B stories tend to go toward character development and secondary characters rather than a distraction from the main story. The show is billed as a Limited Series, meaning it was developed with only one season in mind, but given the fairly decent ratings, and the potential the show has to expand upon its characters and their world, it wouldn’t be surprising if they decided to give a second season a go.

The acting is fairly decent. Only Dakota Fanning, who’s normally dynamic, seems a bit stilted and wooden, as though she’s unsure of why she’s there. She seems to mostly recover from it by the end of the season, but you can tell she’s uncomfortable through the first few episodes. Luke Evans handles an American accent well, though his natural Welsh one does slip through occasionally. Daniel Brühl manages to water down his natural German accent a touch without eliminating it completely, which is on point for his foreign-born character. The rest of the cast are Americans playing Americans.

The scenery for this show is beautiful. It was filmed in Budapest, which has plenty of old-world architecture to use for a late 19th century setting, and they really make the most of it. The costumes are also well done, with Fanning’s character getting some rather impressive sleeve poufs.

I would definitely recommend this series. The story is compelling, and for the most part, the action is swift. It may require a bit of attention, so it’s not really a casual watch, but it is worth the time to sit and pay attention.

This show can only be streamed from the TNT website, which requires a subscription or an inclusive package, or through an iTunes or Amazon Prime Season Pass. It hasn’t yet been release to video and isn’t available free through any streaming sites.